Board games that include a game board and a plurality of game pieces with one piece for each player are well known and have been in use for over 50 years. In fact there is a constant source of new games based on a variety of formats. In many such games, the games include question and answer cards and/or opportunities to draw a card with further instructions on the card. For example, a question and answer board game is disclosed in a Igliseas, U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,145. As disclosed, a question and answer board game to be played by at least two players having a board, a frame congregating a plurality of cells, dice, a plurality of cards having written questions and instructions to the players and a plurality of tokens having different colors to identify the users, and is designed to identify the current position of the players at one of the cells. A number of cells represent websites designed to provide instructions to the player, the rest of the cells represent websites designed to companies that advertise their service and products; a user has to respond correctly to a predetermined number of questions in order to possess the selected cell. The purpose of this game is to possess a higher number of cells or websites and cards with correct answers about the history and development of the internet industry.
Educational games have also become popular. For example, a Olutunfese, U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,245 discloses an educational game for teaching verses from the bible in an entertaining manner. The educational game includes a game board, a game path is on the game board, the game path is divided into a plurality of game spaces that begins with a starting space and ends with an ending space. Bible indicia are in a plurality of the game spaces, each of the Bible indicia comprises a name of a book contained in the Christian Bible. A plurality of scripture cards, each of which has questions indicia thereon, corresponds to each of the Bible indicia. A chance means determines movement about the game path. A plurality of game tokens is used for moving about the game path. The players choose a scripture card if they land on a game space having Bible indicia thereon and they recite a verse referred to by the question indicia on the scripture card. The game is won by being the first player to move their token to the finish space.
A further approach to board games is disclosed in a Frank, U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,131. As disclosed therein a board game which combines traditional board game elements with an unrelated activity, as for example that of preparing a meal. The board has three paths of serially arranged spaces along which a player's tokens travel. A chance device determines the number of spaces moved. Upon alighting on any particular space, a card is drawn, which card is color coordinated to the space just occupied. The card specifies an interactivity such as a question to be answered or a musical theme to be tapped, hummed or whistled. The player must interactively respond. Upon completion of the first path, players select on a first to arrive basis a task associated with meal preparation, serving and clean up. An example is mixing and serving of a beverage or cooking the entrée. One option is to be relieved of any task. Upon completion of the path by their token each player receives an instructional card advising details of the associated task. The game is played in three phases, each utilizing one path and corresponding to three phases of a meal, such as an appetizer, entrée, and desert. Optionally, invitations to a combined meal and game are sent prior to the event by postcard.
A still further example of a board game is disclosed in a DeVor, U.S. Pat. No. 7,461,844 entitled “You Ought to Remember Board Game”. The DeVor patent discloses a trivia board game in which each player attempts to answer trivia questions in order to advance on the board. Each player retains his or her game piece by designating their year of birth which translates over to the Chinese Zodiac Animal involving the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The first player rolls both dice while the player to the right picks up a card announces the year and reads the question from the corresponding color category designated on the dice. The person being asked the question has two minutes to respond correctly in order to advance. Once the time runs out the players reading the question yells “all play” which enables all of the players, excluding the reading player, from answering the question and advancing on the game board. If a player lands on a “You Ought to Remember” space he or she must respond to a trivia question from “You Ought to Remember” card designated by rolling the number dice. The game progresses to all the players in the same fashion until a player reaches the end of the game board at which point he or she has won the game.
Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there is a need and a potential commercial market for a new, exciting, challenging and educational board game in accordance with the present invention. There should be a market for such games because they provide a challenge, are adaptable for different age groups and fun for use by relatively young children to adults. Further, it is believed that the colorful display provides challenges in different fields ranging from mathematics to history and current affairs. It is also believed that such games can be manufactured and sold at a competitive cost and are readily upgradeable to provide new challenges or to overcome any competitive advantage from familiarity with the game.